The Nashville Predators’ fast start has bought their new front office something every team wants in November: time.
After a busy summer of roster churn, the Predators have found themselves in a surprising spot, sitting second in the Central Division as of Friday morning after winning six straight and seven of their last 10. That run has come with a reworked forward group and a team identity built heavily around defense, with Nashville allowing the fifth-fewest goals per game in the NHL.
Since the end of last season, the Predators have added Mavrik Bourque, Ross Colton, Jack Drury, Nils Hoglander, Alex Kerfoot and, most recently, Shane Wright. The changes have been overseen by president of hockey operations and GM Chris MacFarland after last summer’s front-office overhaul, and head coach Andrew Brunette has been working through the process of fitting all the new pieces together.
The results have been uneven on an individual level, but the group has helped produce the kind of start nobody quite expected. More importantly, the strong record has given Nashville room to evaluate rather than react.
According to team sources, the Predators are still in a period of assessment. That means figuring out what they really have in the newcomers is at the top of the list.
The questions are straightforward enough: Can Wright grow into a top-six center? Does Bourque have top-line pedigree?
Can Drury become a long-term third-line center? And how much is left in the tank for Colton and Kerfoot?
There’s also the bigger roster question hanging over the group of veteran forwards who were once viewed as possible trade pieces. Under former GM Barry Trotz, Jonathan Marchessault, Ryan O’Reilly and Steven Stamkos all came up in trade talk. With the new management group now in place, the Predators are weighing whether to keep building around this group or revisit the market.
For now, O’Reilly and Stamkos do not look like likely trade candidates this season. One source pointed out that O’Reilly’s presence could help Wright learn how to become a full-time NHL center. Stamkos, meanwhile, has been too productive to casually move; he has 11 goals and 20 points, and losing that kind of production would be a major hit during a hot stretch.
Marchessault is the more complicated case. He has been injured, has only two goals and five points in 14 games, and has long stood out as the “square peg” among the forwards signed under Trotz.
His contract includes a full no-movement clause, carries a $5.5 million AAV, and runs for two more seasons after this one, which makes any deal difficult. Still, if Nashville wants to create a path, it could try to find a contender willing to take him on for a playoff push - provided Marchessault approves.
The Predators also have flexibility if they want to help make a move happen. They project to have more than $43 million in cap space by the trade deadline, and all of their salary-retention slots remain open. If Nashville were to eat salary on Marchessault’s deal, a $3 million-per-year version of the contract might be enough to draw interest from a cap-strapped team.
One speculative fit is the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas is tight to the cap again, and any deal would require some creative maneuvering from GM Kelly McCrimmon. But Marchessault’s history there makes the idea at least plausible, especially after he won the Conn Smythe when the Golden Knights captured the Stanley Cup in 2023.
For now, though, Nashville’s hot start has changed the conversation. Instead of rushing into decisions, the Predators can keep studying the roster, sorting out the new faces, and deciding whether this group needs more help or a few more exits.
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The Predators have found their footing at the right time, and the timing has created a good problem for Andrew Brunette. Nashvilles six-game winning streak has come while Jonathan Marchessault has been out with an injury and Nicolas Hague has been sitting as a healthy scratch, leaving the coach with a lineup that has settled in and started to win without two veterans who were expected to be part of the mix.
Marchessaults season has been limited by modest production, while Hague had been struggling before he was scratched, which makes the next move even trickier. Brunette has to decide how to bring them back into the picture without disrupting the chemistry and pace the Predators have built during this run, and those choices could be just as important as the wins themselves. [Read more 🡒]
Predators Streak Faces Its Toughest Test Yet Against Vegas
The Predators keep rolling into one of the leagues more demanding matchups, carrying a six-game winning streak into a visit from Vegas. Nashville has also gotten an offensive boost from newly acquired Shane Wright, while Juuse Saros is expected to get the start after another strong season in goal. Its the kind of stretch that can start to tell you a lot about a team, and this one has a chance to say plenty.
Vegas is hardly an easy landing spot for a hot streak, either. The Golden Knights have won four straight after shaking off a recent slump and are coming off a 5-3 victory, so both clubs arrive with momentum and some confidence in their game. The betting market points to a tight, lower-scoring night, which fits the way these teams have been trending, but the bigger question is whether Nashville can keep the run going against a team that has found its footing again. [Read more 🡒]